5 min promo of a nite...

been in a 'discussion' with vjair about how to charge for it. right my old housemate use to do flyers for this night (?50/pop) and recommended me to do a promo reel for them.

They guy was thinking about ?100 including filming. I said I wouldn't do the filming, as
A. no camera
B. I always loads of retakes and am never happy which at a live event is not what you need
C. can't be arsed.

I said that I charge ?150 for 8hrs VJing. And that I could possibly stretch to doing it for that price. But the edit job only is pretty simple. Film from a night, cutup to whatever music the night is, house I think, and their logo. No fancy after fx work. Possibly some recolouring.

They plan to use it for promotion on Myspace DSI etc... but also to show at their events as he said they would be doing 2nd rooms in a few clubs.

What's a fair price for this? I said I could possibly do it for 150/edit only. But vjair is fighting a good fight.

Try to persuade him to employ you as a VJ or another for the second room. It would be great to give the oportunity to a new VJ even if only for expenses. Failing this hire all the gear required and quote him 3K for your efforts

Their publishing it on the web and may gain vastly from the publicity it gives them by making their night look very professional and appealing.

Hire the camera.....after they have met your terms of 50% deposit a day & night at least filming, couple of days editing etc etc. They possibly will want changes, custom logo work done and included, sponsors logos added and that being the case the sponsors will be puting the money in and will want to approve the work....look into it well dvnt and ask all the relivent ?'s before coming up with your final figure.

it so depends on how much you like them, how much you trust them and how much you think they can afford. ?150 is the bear minimum you should charge if they are good friends and skint.

i'd be worried that they will supply shit footage and then complain when it doesn't cut together well (very likely if they don't hire a good cameraman with a decent camera)

i'd not worry too much about them using it in the future at nights and stuff - your talking about 5mins max anyway so chances are they will probably have some kind of VJ or something so they don't have the expense of hiring a projector just to show a five min film on loop all night!

I'd suggest that they need a budget of ?300 minimum which would be split 50/50 editor cameraman - you should be able to do an ok job of it for that much so long as they are good friends its an ok deal.

If they spent more then they could get a better end product. a budget of around ?3k would be the entry level for a "professional" promo video.

ok so its a night a 300 capacity club. where they charge ?5 / ?6 in so if they fill it they probably make around ?1500 on the door.

TBH unless they are good friends i'd try and charge them at least ?600 all in (ie probably around what they would pay a headline DJ)

be very careful of thinking things like

dvnt said:

Granted I could end up with crap, but wouldn't be down to me.

Click to expand...

it WILL be down to you when they decide they are not happy and want a million things changing (most of which are impossible as you don't have the shots..)

Clearly state before hand that they are hiring you and your equipment for a set amount of time - if they want another days worth of editing done to make all the little changes then they will have to pay extra.

Further to our msn conversation I’ve decided to email you. To clarify it etc...

Right I’ve spoken to a few professionals in the edit and motion graphic industry and considering the fact you are planning to use this to promote all your events, not just on myspace and dsi etc... But to be screened in the rooms of other nights then ?150 really isn’t enough. I understand you are a small night in a small town, but if you are serious about having a visual promo reel then you need to factor this in. You seem serious about putting on quality music and DJs, like Yousef and Tall Paul etc...

I’ve been quoted for similar work at ?100/hr plus 20% which is still low and covers one off promo work.

Looking at it = ?150 works out at ?30/minute for your 5min promo which is too low as that minute of footage will have a few hours work on it, if you take into account capturing, editing, re-editing, colouring, compression etc.... And that’s without added effects such as logo integration.

From a professional viewpoint, ?150 won’t cover final mastering, or copyright, or an approval to make final checks etc...

A looping DVD that any idiot can use (literally put in drive and it will auto loop without even needing a remote control)

web compressed/sized and youtube/myspace/vimeo ready or other website etc. Agreed before starting.

PAL broadcast safe.

Your logo and any others you want (record labels/club logo etc...) overlaid into the piece. Not moving logos, unless you already have this as a video file. (further details about acceptable video formats on request)

The copyright of it for you (Moda) to use as you want, to be shown where you want as often as often as you want.

A single approval to make changes etc... As in, I’ll make a version and you get to highlight changes etc and where possible and reasonable they will be done. You are hiring me and my equipment for a set amount of time - if you want another days worth of editing after this, to make all the little changes then you will have to pay extra. This is how the industry works across the creative arts.

It will be a 50% deposit upfront I’m afraid. I’ve been ripped off a few times already.

If you’re serious about having a moving image visual identity and promo video then wicked. I don’t want to rip you off nor do I want to ripped off.

bad approach imo. You start with "hello matey?" are you really that friendly with these ppl?

"A looping DVD that any idiot can use"

Think about what this makes you sound like, and what it may make them feel like. Overall I don't like the tone of the email. Read it aloud to yourself and you may see what I mean. There are lots of other things to reword / rethink in this email. I hope that helps a little.